If you can't tell me why you believe what you believe...

You have no business believing it.

I was raised a Catholic. I was aces in my Catechism class (once got in a vehement argument with a nun after kicking every single boy's ass in Bible trivia yet being told I could not be a priest -- even though I was smarter -- because I had a vagina). I no more believe that God made Adam a companion out of his rib than I believe that my pet goldfish, Gorby, is going to open the top of the lid on his fish tank, stroll over to me on his back two fins, and wish me g'day. Why?

Because science. Because I am a rational being who can think. I don't know if i was given this gift by an amorphous god (I tend toward that, being a theist), or whether I am an accident of chemistry, molecular biology, and quantum physics. But herein lies the rub: I'm not afraid to say I don't know.

I do not know.

I do remain convinced that anyone who tells you that they DO know is a scam artist of the purest ray serene. How do I know this? We have ministers making multi-billion dollar salaries and paying ZERO in taxes (by the way, if you're a minister raking in bank and preaching hate against refugees, let me be the first to say, "fuck you very much."). We have governments paying in thousands of lives and trillions -- yes, trillions -- of dollars to fight for what they believe in the name of "God." We have millions of women being stripped of their enjoyment of sex and sold into slavery each year in the name of God. Sorry, but if your "god" demands mass murder and mutilation, your god is a piece of shit. I'd rather worship the devil than such a malevolent "god."

If I had to choose a religion to practice, it would likely be Wicca, because it makes sense to worship the planet that gives us life daily (Instead of destroying it as good Christians often do), and because we've burned plenty of witches without any one of them ever coming back and starting a religious war against us (although they probably should -- but that's the bitch of practicing a truly peaceful religion -- you can't both practice it and wage war).

Long post short, if you can not justify to me why you believe what you do other than to say, "Well, it's in the Bible/It's in the Koran/It's on this really groovy fucking website my pastor created," you are a disgrace to God's creation. God gave you a brain; fucking think with it. And stop blowing each other up.

Rationality vs Irrationality

Christianity claims there are truths which are beyond the power of reason to demonstrate, but that doesn't mean it's irrational. There's a difference between what is irrational (against reason) and what is suprarational (above reason).

Consider this. Quantum physics is above the reasoning abilities of most four-year-olds. Does this make it, even for a four year old, irrational? No.

Or think about this. To know everything there is to know about modern science is beyond the capabilities of any one human being. This is why we have specialists. Yet, we don't say that, because the totality of scientific knowledge is beyond the powers of one person to know, science is irrational.

In other words, the fact that a person is limited in what he can know doesn't mean there isn't something beyond that. If we move from an individual to the human race as a whole, we can say that the fact that there may be limits upon what man, as a finite creature can know, doesn't mean there aren't thing beyond what he can know.

Christianity claims to have a message from beyond man's intellectual horizon. It claims God (whose existence, by the way, is knowable even with our finite reasoning abilities) has revealed things which are beyond reason, but which don't conflict with it. It also claims that reality as we know it gives evidence, though not proof, that transcendental truths exist. Whether this is so or not, it's not an irrational position.

From the Christian perspective, the rationalist is like a man with a road map who, having found the map reliable in what is pictured, somehow concludes from this that only what is pictured is real. The rationalist thinks roads which go off the map go nowhere, but it's really rationalism with its blind faith that's a dead end.

Is is inherently irriational

Religion is definitely irrational. At it's core, it is based on belief in things which cannot be proven with measurable scientific data. " But we have a book! We can believe in that!" Yes, but most everything in that book is far-fetched and completely unproven. When scientists can create a tool or process that can prove God's existence beyond a reasonable, then one could make the argument that religion is rational. Until then, it definitely is not.

Yes it is

In this day and age most scientists are religious. They have found the systems of the earth, the human body and the universe to be perfect and incredibly intricately designed. It all points to intelligent design not coincidence.

80% of the world population have strong religious beliefs. This is the case because it is logical.

Think way back when!

If you think about it, it makes perfect rational sense. I am no bible thumper, nor a basher; my opinion is bias free. I believe in a "God"- what that means to me is another story. For a long time, I didn't know what to believe, I was agnostic. However, one day, I thought about all the stories about dragons and how they were revered or feared all over the world; there was no way for such an idea to have spread so rapidly and consistently throughout the world! Sure, there were boats, and people DID make it to another place in the world, but continent crossing was pretty rare. It is this simple idea that makes me truly believe in a higher power. How is it that religion was spread through the ENTIRE world without there being a reliable method of transportation? Now, when someone asks which religion is the 'right' one, I have no answer. I like to think it was based off a true religion and was twisted over time by word of mouth.

Everything is ultimately rational

It's just a matter of what one's goals are (rationality without goals which are not themselves rational or irrational can not exist) and what one is aware of. Everything a person does is rational in light of goals and the awareness that motivation was exercising. A person can have split awareness in fact everyone does which is why sometimes people do irrational things. There is nevertheless a reason which in light of what that part of yourself is aware of and what it is not and what goals it has makes complete sense.

Not based on reason or evidence

There is no evidence to support the ideas of religion. It does not stand up to scrutiny and has caused many bad things to occur in the world, like wars. It claims to have the truth, yet cannot substantiate this with anything beyond scriptures. It is at the root of a lot of hate that is unjustified.

No, religion is not inherently rational. But it exists rationally.

According to Britannica, religion is "human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence". None of these adjectives could be observed and measured empirically or be justified logically. Actually, these characteristics of religion are not independent of our reverence; they are venerable because we revere them. After all, the existence of religions is rational, as human beings tend to seek false causes in the wake of disappointing situations, etc.

"No", it is irrational.

Speaking from a spiritual view point, I can say that it is irrational (the no answer). We have science (the rational) to take care of the body and the needs of the logical side of the brain, faith looks after the ephemeral such as the soul and the it looks to the irrational and creative portion of the brain. This isn't to say that religion is without its uses, but it follows a pattern laid out by socially or individually decided morality more than facts and figures.

Faith is not a virtue.

Faith: Believing in something without having any evidence for it. Seems that the only evidence that any religion has isn't evidence at all. All they had were supernatural claims unsupported by anything in the real world. Their only evidence is their holy book, testimony (which means squat without backing up the claim with proof), and faith. If these were the only 3 things that I used to assess reality, then I would be the most gullible person on earth.

No, religion is inherently irrational.

Religion is never truly seen as being rational. It generally requires what is called a leap of faith for people to truly believe in it. Religions also ask you to not question various texts or attempt to understand them in a new way beyond what they prefer to present to you.

"No", it is irrational.

Speaking from a spiritual view point, I can say that it is irrational (the no answer). We have science (the rational) to take care of the body and the needs of the logical side of the brain, faith looks after the ephemeral such as the soul and the it looks to the irrational and creative portion of the brain. This isn't to say that religion is without its uses, but it follows a pattern laid out by socially or individually decided morality more than facts and figures.

There is no God.

It's ridiculous that we are in the 21st century and still believing in any sort of religion. The time period where the church had political power was called the dark ages for a reason. Also, it's completely egocentric and ignorant for one to believe that their one religion out of the thousands or even millions that have existed throughout history is the one true one and that all others are doomed for an eternity of torture and doom.

Religion is inherently irrational

I would like to describe my experiences interacting with a few of highly educated individuals who have done a lot of research throughout their working lives. All of them are incredible human beings and way more intelligent than me. I cannot but be amazed at their sheer brilliance when it comes to tackling complex scientific questions. But when it comes to matters of religion and faith, this brilliance and their ability to think rationally, takes a backseat. Logic goes out of the window and they totally give in to blind faith, which was instilled into them as youngsters. This continues to baffle me to this day. When such brilliant people can give into primordial instincts such as faith, what hope is there for regular human beings?

Religion makes people irrational.

I would like to describe my experiences interacting with a few of highly educated individuals who have done a lot of research throughout their working lives. All of them are incredible human beings and way more intelligent than me. I cannot but be amazed at their sheer brilliance when it comes to tackling complex scientific questions. But when it comes to matters of religion and faith, this brilliance and their ability to think rationally, takes a backseat. Logic goes out of the window and they totally give in to blind faith, which was instilled into them as youngsters. This continues to baffle me to this day. When such brilliant people can give into primordial instincts such as faith, what hope is there for regular human beings?